The Sound of Fire
by ConnectedtotheEarth
Summary: The night before Yuugi is fated to duel Maximillion Pegasus for his grandfather's soul, his childhood friend feels the need to recount the journey by taking a walk into the forest, away from the castle. What will she do when she discovers that her crush is preparing for the duel in the same way, at the same time? Yami x Anzu one-shot!


_Hello, again, my friends! ^O^ I am excited about this little one-shot, inspired from Yami Yuugi's awesomeness in Season One coupled with the number, October Sky theme. I hope you enjoy reading it as I enjoyed writing it! Yami x Anzu, as always! Read carefully! _

_Summary: The night before Yuugi is fated to duel Maximillion Pegasus for his grandfather's soul, his childhood friend feels the need to recount the journey by taking a walk into the forest, away from the castle. What will she do when she discovers that her crush is preparing for the duel in the same way, at the same time? _

_Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! _

_Rated: K+_

* * *

_The Sound of Fire _

Mazaki Anzu gazed around the beginning edge of the murky forest from her bedroom window. A sigh came alive through her lips, lightly hitting the expensive glass. For the past few minutes, that forest appeared to be entertaining her with the foggiest notion: she was restless and worried. Two cerulean globes ran the length of the wooded area, searching for some solution other than a duel with Pegasus which was _clearly_ unavoidable. Preordained, even.

Sitting delicately on her extra-long twin bed, legs folded neatly under her extensive pink gown, Anzu watched the outside world: a sun of brilliant orange preparing to retire from the Earth, seagulls chasing after a day that was sinking into tomorrow, trees beginning their dance for the moon; wind no longer a prisoner to the sun. The water lazily glided back and forth in the ocean on the horizon. The girl was deeply disconcerted. The serenity the late evening brought with it did not parallel to the basket of solemn fruits the atmosphere of the castle was harvesting: Yuugi had to duel Pegasus tomorrow morning. This was it. There was no turning back, no faltering wits to lie in their graves.

And there was _nothing_ she could do about it.

The impact of that frightful duel had been the reason there was a dimness in Anzu's blue pools. It had been the reason, also, for her skin to sport a pasty glow compared to her usual creamy tint. She was worried for her longtime friend. More pressing, she was worried for his _other _self, as well: the mysterious entity from the shadows. _How was he faring_, she thought with an involuntary blush that crept up the slopes of her cheeks. There was a fierceness about him that could send mighty winds spiraling back across the sea, a fierceness that had remained absent or at least _dormant _from his lighter half for years. Was the significance of the climatic duel pestering his conscience, recklessly piggy-backing his nerves as much as it was her childhood friend's?

Anzu exhaled noisily, coming out of her thoughts, as she placed her head helplessly against the glass, thankful for the cold that served as a therapist to her tightening cranium. She was obviously at an impasse. She could not stop the duel; there was no physical support in stock to offer. No special monster, magic or trap cards she could give him –nothing. Not even any confidence; she, herself, was lacking supply in that department, as well. What could she do?

_Well sitting around _here_ certainly isn't going to help. _Taking a walk, Anzu starkly decided –perhaps with a little more gumption that compulsory–was the best way to shake off her nerves and harvest her crop of thoughts without them running out of control on her. With as much grace as she could muster between her bed and the rest of her comfortable cubicle, slipped into her night shoes, raked a few refreshing fingers through auburn locks, and hand-ironed her petite nightdress before bolting through the door, raw grit pasted artfully on her face.

* * *

Anzu wandered through the forest, searching for something intangible: hope. She needed that to show her trip out here at dangerous hours in the evening was not a royal waste of time. The air smelt of crisp autumn sky, the time where apple pies were being baked to perfection. As if on cue, Anzu stepped on a twig in her path that snapped her thoughts in two.

Come to think of it, Yuugi's other self was like the apple pie she loved so much: scented and crisp, but warm and –dare she _think _it? – Satisfying? What connotation did that word hold for her? She knew the spirit of the puzzle was a distinct being, unlike his morbidly timid counterpart who attracted all the stereotypes of being an introvert like a fly on light bulbs. But, recently, she had begun viewing this unfathomable spirit through a much more abstract scope. He was _nourishing_. _That_ was what made him so darn satisfying: his uncanny ability to saturate all of them, especially Yuugi, with a sort of bald strength that came from the very core of rugged individualism. After all, it was what the spirit was. The fact that his regal air was beginning to penetrate her pours –Yuugi's body, Jonouchi's wit, Honda's skepticism– was plausible.

Then there was his aura, so powerful, it was practically intoxicating. The forest floor seemed to be guiding her footsteps, helpfully turning her heels in a certain direction, over a certain brush, around a certain dead vegetable without her doing much proverbial thinking regarding forests and their confusing layout. Anzu felt her cheeks harboring pink swirls of warmness as she reflected on this shadowy being. Contrasting Yuugi, the spirit had an outstanding presence. So much so that it blasted her like a weapon every time he took the stage, er, place on the dueling arena. He made everything around him appear so ethereal with his demanding company; she observed fondly how the grass seem to clear the path for him whenever he walked up to step upon the dueling platform, the trees deadly quiet whenever he talked, endeavoring (with some difficulty) to contain their rejoicing within their barks. Even the drops of rain, regularly spraying the vegetating forest, had a meaning whenever the spirit of the puzzle was in the midst. It had rained so much on him one time, Anzu regaled the thought the sky was salivating over him!

The late afternoon was a fresh and watery one; when the turf and paths were bustling with excess moist, withered leaves, and the summer sky was giving one final round of salutations to a day that was nearly over. Anzu Mazaki let her head loll, with some nostalgia present, at the way the ginger heavens were hiking up the mountains in the distance, outlining it in a thick black color. Had it really only been a few days since Anzu and her friends were making their way up here, to the castle, themselves?

Sitting comfortably in her musings, Anzu failed to notice where her feet had led her to: an uninhabited part of the tired forest with a small space of ground to take the weight off your feet without worrying about insects accompanying you, and what appeared to be group of Cypripendioidea flower species, indulging in a seminar on the surface of the forest floor. Anzu followed the lady slipper flowers, noticing the pink sheet of autumn sky above her head in all its glorious beauty. Looking down from the sky, she faced mortification when she stared at the one being she had been reflecting on since she entered the forest.

Yuugi's _other _self.

_Oh_. Anzu knew it was him, too, not his shy partner, pulling off that reclined position against an old oak tree, arms folded tidily over his chest, his ankles crossed over each other, the sunset dying softly on his beige skin with so much majestic fervor Anzu fought the urge to drop to her knees and praise him. For all the commotion the wind was causing the leaves of the trees to do, it gently tossed his own unique hair about in a soothing formation. Ebony lashes kissed the bones of his porcelain cheeks. Anzu never could quite grasp how he could be human and not arguably a hybrid of Michaelangelo's and Leonardo DiVinci's masterpieces _breathed_ to life. It was as if God, Him_self_, crafted him, without going through the whole protocol of infantries.

She let go a rather sharp gasp, one that rustled the spirit from his light sleep and caused him to carefully raise one chary eyelid in the direction of the inhalation. Suddenly feeling very self-conscious, the girl bashfully scrambled behind the tree to hide both herself and her enflaming cheeks. Was her crush _asleep_? She never thought she'd see the day he would engage in a human activity, however trivial. The element of surrealism was quite strong whenever he was involved, already. He made sleeping look like a sacred art only debutantes could learn. The way the sunlight bathed his body in a warm radiance was enough to make the poor girl swoon.

_The Spirit of the Millennium Puzzle? _Anzu thought with trembling fingers and shallow breaths chopped up by astonishment and perhaps a little fear, as well. Had he seen her, in her frilly pink gown? She would have died if he caught a glimpse of her bunny slippers. She had, after all, a rather distinguished reputation for being a bit of a tomboy. _What's _he _doing here? _

Giving up on the idea of slowing her heart which was racing a mile-a-minute, she calmed her breathing long enough to poke her head out from the side of the bulky tree and looked at the spirit, again, deciding not to be so hastily ambitious. This time, however, she nearly choked on her own saliva: he was gazing back at her, from his peripheral vision. Even from his prone view of her, Anzu watched with amazement at how _intense_ his irises were. Breathtaking in the late light, but so solemn, it was disheartening.

Still, Anzu, knowing her presence was fully-acknowledged, offered a timid and wry laugh, surrendering from her hiding spot behind the tree. A smile settled prudently over her lips as she made her way over to him, but not without ducking her head timorously before him. There was a tremor in her throat that forbade her to speak without sounding like a stuttering machine. He was a sleep, darn it! How'd he get the advantage over her?

"Hi…Yuugi." Though she knew it clearly wasn't her small doppelganger friend, she needed an attempt to mask her indignity with a chirpy tone of delight at seeing her aloof friend but with little success. Even though she stood above him from the forest floor, his presence coupled with those looming, glazed crimson eyes _towered _over her own frail being. She knew she wasn't a _weak _person, but his deep-fried cerise eyes could make her double over like knock-kneed beggars in an alleyway in unexplainable anguish, and Anzu had no idea as to why.

The other Yuugi, realizing the "intruder" was his partner's longtime friend, let his eyes touch her own softer this time. He filled his previously guarded expression with one of distant civility. His lips parted slightly to exchange greetings.

Then there was silence. Enough for the both of them and the entire forest to share.

Anzu fiddled with the hem of her garment diffidently before asking, "couldn't sleep either?" trying to lighten the mood.

The Spirit continued to regard her through serious orbs, letting his eyes converse with her increasing timid self before offering a soft reply, "Did you come seeking Yuugi?" his breath sat visibly on the frigid air. Nighttime was settling in now. The Spirit knew well of Anzu's knowledge of Yuugi, his other self, and the millenniums that connected them, thus he did not try to conceal it whenever it was just he and her. That was a rarity in itself though, now that he thought it…

Surprise smudged the Spirit's penetrating gaze ever-so-slightly when he caught deep tinges of pink crawling quickly across Anzu's cheeks. His eyes calmly raked over her, noticing the gown and slippers. That, topped with her rather bashful demeanor now instigated the foundations of a small smirk across his own features.

"I sense an undying restlessness in you, however…" he left the sentence hanging in the night air, suspended between the chilled weather and the Spirit's own inquires about her ventures there. His countenance sobered a bit when he said "there are still Pegasus' _eliminators _skulking about." He lifted his keen eyes onto Anzu, who struggled to support their heaviness. "You shouldn't be here."

The girl blinked amiably, letting the realization of the Spirit's warnings install themselves, before letting go a small squeal. "Oh, no! I totally forgot about them! Did they see me? They didn't see me, did they? Oh, man! I stepped on a twig a while back; I sure hope they didn't hear me! I don't even have a dueling deck! It's not fair! It's not like they put up a _sign _or anything saying it was _theirs_, or anything! Who ever heard of owning an entire forest? How was I supposed to know they creep around during the nighttime, too?" Secretly, she smacked herself for condoning what happened to Mai Valentine in the case of PaniK, the Eliminator. Anzu looked worriedly about her person, childlike fright etched into her visage. The Spirit of the Millennium Puzzle seemed potently amused, winking his eyes in awkward surprise, as well.

"You are safe here, Anzu," the Spirit spoke evenly. There was a tranquility in his deep, urbane voice that only enriched his deity-like appearance. "It was not my intention to alarm you. I only meant that you were taking a grave risk, approaching these forests by yourself at such an uncomely hour."

"Oh." Bringing an apologetic smile to her face, Anzu fiddled with her hands behind her back, trying to cook up some kind of conversation. The Spirit was not difficult to talk to –she knew that– but there was something complicating about his character that made the experience of _trying _nearly impossible.

And there he was, again –just _staring _at her. His critical eyes cut her face from all sorts of angles, before she conceded to asking him a question of universal importance: "How are you doing?" _Anything _to get him to quit staring, though she rather enjoyed the feeling of his deep, thought-bound irises warmly massaging every muscle in her face.

Unguarded for the inquest, the Spirit slowly averted his eyes away from Anzu and descended them atop the far-off hills. His head went slightly a-tilt in observance of its smoky color. A stiff nod was all he offered in response. Then, to employ good manners: "How are you?" he asked. The words formed messily on his tongue, slipping out unexpectedly. Being colloquial was rather like an untailored suit for the Spirit. Yet, here he was, exchanging humanoid practices with his partner's childhood friend and crush. It was truthful to admit the Spirit had a great deal of respect for the affable girl arrested somewhere within himself. Never, however, did he think they would be within the right proximity for him to be exercising it!

He noticed with a startling –but suppressed– gasp at the _way _her face seemed to brighten up with the most unusual amalgamation of pink and pale white whenever he spoke to her. Was she nervous around him, he wondered?

"O-Oh, me? Y-yeah, I'm fine, too." a toothy smile for her secret crush. "I'm great!" The mounds of confidence she pushed into her words made her exasperated. It seemed to consume a lot of energy, talking to the Spirit of the Millennium Puzzle. She couldn't exactly say she was being honest with herself, though. The whole reason she came out here was because she _wasn't _great. In fact, she was a huge mess of nerves between Yuugi and the Spirit and the unavoidable duel with Pegasus tomorrow, and Yuugi's grandfather's soul –Anzu took an inward sigh that deflated her smile, and dulled her eyes. Even her hair, swilling freely past her shoulders, seemed to lose a bit of its sheen. No, just the exact opposite. _Who am I kidding? I'm not great at all._

The Spirit of the Millennium Puzzle beheld the saddened girl in front of him. A nip of concern rapped lightly at his soul. Could it be Yuugi's feelings, penetrating his own?

"Is there something the matter?" The Spirit voiced. Anzu blushingly scuffed a small patch of dirt on the ground cleaving pigheadedly to her slipper. What was it about the Spirit that made him seem so _sacred_ to her? In retrospect?

She pondered on his question before answering, "No. I've just been thinking is all." The Spirit's eyes encouraged her to go on. Knowing his mind was far too sharp to consider one-sided answers as satisfying, the brunette girl sighed and made her way over to the tree opposite her crush. She pressed her back softly against its trunk and continued. "I'm worried, Yuugi. What if Pegasus…" she hesitated before going on. "What if Pegasus _does _win the duel tomorrow? What will happen then?"

"Do you think Pegasus will be victorious?" came the Spirit's calm reply.

"No, but–"

"Then, he will not win the duel and nothing will happen to Yuugi." There was a sadness in his voice that stuck funnily to Anzu's heart. No, it was something stronger than sadness. Something more eternal. _Sorrow_. There was definitely something troubling brewing about; it practically _oozed_ out of the Spirit's countenance. Why had he blatantly used Yuugi's name, when it was clear he was identified as Yuugi, as well? Why not say that nothing would happen to _him _in place of Yuugi's name, instead?

Something caught tight in Anzu's throat that tasted awfully similar to realization. Was he aware that she knew of his presence inside his childhood friends' body and soul? Did she make it _that_ obvious?

Anzu cautiously removed herself from the tree, inching her way over to the man who embodied her genuine infatuation for a while now. She looked down at him with her cerulean orbs, rivaling the tone in his voice with loving curiosity. "Who are you?" She inquired more to herself than to him. As he looked up at her unsteadily, Anzu brought herself majestically to the forest floor, legs tucked neatly under her gown.

The Spirit was considering the question given to him. It really had been the first inquiry made to him and _only _him since his awakening into the modern world. Prior to this one moment in time, where he and Anzu shared the space and air together in comfortable bliss, all the questions he received –whether they be on dueling or opinions– had been meant for Yuugi, and he answered on his behalf. But now…he was answering for himself, a prospect he found to be as equally confounding as it was empowering. Anzu's presence brought out the merely uninformed side of him. Compared to being well-educated in shadow games, dueling, and dark hearts –knowing an encyclopedia's worth of knowledge on other people; the way they thought and acted– asking who _he_ was only reminded him of how deep he was sitting in a pool of ignorance.

He blinked over troubled, crimson eyes, asking sensitively, "who do you suppose I am?" Really, her guess was as good as his.

Anzu looked thoughtful, giving him a pensive head tilt. She appreciated the way he impersonalized the question for her, but really hadn't thought about that before –only because she always concluded that she was either going crazy or had too many free trips to Loony Ville. They both amounted to the same thing, really.

_Oh, that's right_. Anzu recalled with fondness in her eyes at the way he looked when she first stumbled upon his person in the forest: his body lying lazily alongside the huge tree; the branches curled over to resemble little figurines, bowing and fanning him; his arms crossed, one over the other, not in annoyance but in what looked a lot like perfect peace; the air fluttered, swooning about him, giving the illusion of him being seated amidst armies of frothy clouds; the sun's light rolling adoringly off the beautiful planes of his face; the last of the wood thrushes chirping a lullaby about his being; the grass, a remarkable footrest; the sky's rays favorably illuminating him in one final spotlight of public attention, yet…he was an anonymity. There was no other human life around. None but her. How could someone so human pull something so godly? It was grandiosity, _magnificence _in its purest, rawest, most reverenced form.

Blue orbs widened with wonder. "Are you a god?" Anzu questioned carefully. She sensed the heart of the forest was pulsating rhythmically. Something about it was singing hymns of gratitude. Was it because of his being? She ducked her head in shame, and felt like crawling to the center of the Earth's core to shrivel up and die. She wasn't even polytheistic, and yet, here she was, applying mythology to create her crush's identity. Not only that, but he was staring at her like she had two heads.

Well, maybe not two…an unrewarding one and a _half _headswas more fitting.

But still, there was evidence of what looked to be feigned approval and a truckload of skepticism threaded expertly across his eyes, cheeks and lips.

_Yep. I feel like a big, fat idiot now. _Anzu flushed deeply, powerless to hide her shame. _Why would I say 'god'? A _god_? _Really, _Anzu_? She scolded herself, full of self-loathing. Her thoughts always found a way to run rampage whenever the Spirit was present. In her defense, though, he was excruciatingly striking; beautiful. Who _wouldn't _have mistaken him for Aphrodite's brother?

To her own amazement, the Spirit lowered his head further behind his intimidating golden bangs and turned his head towards the East. "Would a _god _have acted as foolishly as I had?" There was a silent defeat pressing at the walls of his mouth. Though the words exited his lips in almost an agonizing whisper, Anzu heard them painfully clear.

So _that _was what was bothering him. He wasn't looking at her flabbergasted because she compared his _comeliness_ to that of a god, but rather his actions –his decisions– to that of a deity. Though her _vanity _had been rescued, Anzu didn't understand. What had he done wrong?

"What do you mean?" Anzu asked, confusion softly instrumenting her vocal chords. The Spirit remained quiet, but his presence, his own disconcertedness resounded loudly throughout the entire forest.

"When Seto Kaiba vowed to end his life if I did not forfeit the duel, I continued on with my attack." He surveyed his hands, recalling with remorse at his decision to attack with the _Obnoxious Celtic Guardian_. "I only thought I was doing what Yuugi wanted, for his grandfather," he placed his hands down and looked away in disgust. "But I was doing only what_ I _wanted, and because of that, we lost the duel," the Spirit finished forlornly.

Anzu had listened to his brief biography of failure, hearing the pain shrouding his voice. "I'm nothing like Yuugi," he acknowledged dismissively. There was no hint of bitterness spilling from his ounces of words. "I know that now."

An abnormal disturbance probed Anzu's mind as she looked absorbedly at him. Was he still beating himself up over _that_? It had already been one day since the event took place. And_ in_ that time, he had succeeded in defeating Kujaku Mai, and his best friend and dueling partner, Katsuya Jonouchi. He was one step away from defeating Maximillion Pegaus and _winning _the Duelist Kingdom Tournament!

Anzu placed a gentle, butterscotched hand on the Spirit's cheek. Surprised erupted in his throat, eliciting a small, inconsequential gasp as she willed the Spirit's face in the direction Anzu was pulling it to: towards her. "Well, you definitely don't _look_ like Yuugi," Anzu said, using her thumb to play with a thick, golden bang hanging obstinately in front of the Spirits' eyes. There was a faraway look in her bluish orbs that made the other Yuugi's face redden slightly. Was she looking at _him _like that? Or Yuugi?

"You're much more tense than he is," Anzu said sympathetically, studying with her hand, the way the blood swarmed warmly under his cheeks. Then she was looking at his eyes, stabbing them with her own. "Yet warmer at the same time."

Warmer? Did she say _warmer_?

When Anzu noted the mildly baffled expression dressing his features, she nodded knowingly, removing her hand from his cheek. She then flapped them wildly at the air. "Yeah. It's like it feels warmer, somehow, even though it's nighttime now." She inwardly giggled when the Spirit, cutely and inconspicuously, dabbed at the air with his own fingers like a kitten pawing at a new ball of yellow yarn, mystified at how it somehow unraveled itself.

As he poked at the invisible layer of gases, Anzu observed those tormenting eyes of his. Crimson peepers, the color that matched her blush _exactly_, bordered by black lashes and fire that seared an unfixable hole into one's soul, burning them to a cinder at the very core of their being. With quivering fingers, Anzu gently traced the strong bone under her savior's left eye; a quick jerk of his head towards her ensued. "And your eyes…" she trailed off for a moment or more, just examining them with visible love in her own deep blue orbs. "It's like you can see _right_ through someone with them. Yuugi can't do that…" pure amazement doused her soft voice, betraying the adoration she held for him, as she continued her personal study of them. "I remember watching this movie one time, about this guy who had X-rays for eyes, and he could see how people really were: if they were evil and wicked, or just scared and confused. If they were, he could release them from that feeling or punish them for it." Her brows furrowed sweetly, tilting her head at him as if she found something stuck in them. Her eyes expanded in wonder. "That's what you do, too! Like that time you helped Kaiba out of the darkness by doing something freaky with your hand." Suddenly realizing her rather abrasive choice of words, Anzu tenderly clasped his hand contritely and held it up between them. "Not that that's a _bad_ thing, or anything. I just meant that –well, I-I meant that–" she sighed, overwhelmed by her ability to make herself act like a complete idiot in front of the man she fell for. He blinked at her dumbly. "Didn't you do the same thing to PaniK, when you defeated him in a duel? You remember…right?" She piped bashfully, trying to recover from her earlier episode of buffoon-ism as well as conceal her blush and (for the ump_teenth_ time), failing royally.

"Yes, Anzu, I remember." The Spirit softly rejoined. He was dividing his time between looking at her inflamed face and the communion between their hands.

Anzu smilingly looked back at his eyes, this time noticing the golden lightning rod dangling stubbornly in his face. With her right hand, she rigidly brushed the bang from his face, as if commanding it to "shoo", go away. "Nope, you definitely don't look like Yuugi," she confirmed, giggling. The light note touched the Spirit's ears, enhancing his amazement at her. "I thought _Yuugi's_ hair was unmanageable. But this is im_possible_!" She caught herself and added as an afterthought, equipped with good compliment, "B-but in a _good _way."

Grasping with something close to a babbling schoolgirl behavior at the way she was holding his hand, Anzu nervously dropped it, his bang and shoved her own cursed ones deep into the grass behind her back. _Stupid, stupid, stupid! _She repeated in mortified agony. _I'm totally invading his personal space! _

As Anzu abused herself inwardly, the Spirit placed a hand on a golden lock of hair and tugged at it weirdly; appearing as if it was the first time he had been made aware of the existence of his riotous and rebellious hair. To both their astonishment, the Spirit succumbed to a small chuckle that rumbled its way up his throat. "I suppose it _could_ use with a little managerial maintenance..." Anzu stared at him with wide-eyed wonder before laughing loudly as well. To hear her crush, talking about something _other _than the Heart of the Cards –although she held the speech close to her soul– made her heart flutter with affection.

Silence. The water moved calmly east of them. The trees were still. By this time, the Spirit had sat up against the bark, and Anzu had shyly and discreetly moved a few inches closer to his person. _For_ _warmth_, she admitted sensibly. _For myself_, she harbored selfishly. She was falling deeper and deeper in love with this mysterious entity that lived inside of Yuugi. He had a contemplative and reflecting temperament that drew her in, whereas Yuugi's was merely like a child questioning something simple. If he rejected her feelings, it would be like she was to drown in her own foolishness.

Resurfacing from her thoughts, she folded her arms and mustered up a suspicious look at the other Yuugi. "Well, now that you know why I'm out here, it's only fair if I ask you the same thing: what are you doing out here by yourself?"

The Spirit's voice, graver and leaden with melancholy, declared: "I feel that Yuugi is afraid of me –for what I nearly did to Kaiba atop the castle tower." Anzu felt the entire atmosphere darken intensely around them. Her smile melted from her face instantly. _Me and my _big _mouth_, she mumbled inwardly.

"I sense that Yuugi feels as if he cannot control me." He choked the grass tightly, shadows covering his eyes. "I was only doing what I wanted. I frightened the little one, and for that reason, will I not duel tomorrow."

Anzu could not comprehend what he had just said: _controlling _him. What was he to Yuugi, an object that needed a rather tight leash? But before she could protest profusely, the Spirit added solicitously, as if a new thought struck him: "But that is fine. I came out here to give Yuugi some time to sort things out, by himself. The forests, these trees," he looked around appreciatively, "possess the gift of comfort. I felt it was the very least I could do to help my partner think without too much of a disturbance."

Anzu found that admirable, but questioned softly, "but the castle isn't too noisy."

"That's true," he answered, "but Yuugi wanted a more natural quiet, away from the castle and fellow duelists." His eyes gestured resolutely to the woods, as if to say, 'and here we are'.

"Oh." Anzu started, still concerned. "But you can't just let Yuugi duel by myself tomorrow! That wouldn't be fair."

The Spirit locked his eyes with her own in question. Anzu nodded.

"I mean, think about it. _You're_ the reason Yuugi made it this far." Anzu fought back his unwavering gaze upon her by darting her eyes argumentatively right at the golden puzzle poised about his neck. "Did you forget that Pegasus has a millennium item, too? And he used it to steal Yuugi's grandpa's soul! It's not like if Yuugi doesn't use the powers of his puzzle tomorrow that Pegasus won't use the powers of his millennium eye. He needs you…Spirit." Anzu rested a shaky hand upon his shoulder. "I know that you're upset about how you dueled Kaiba." Her voice softened to a loving whisper. "But you did what you thought was _right_. All this time, you've been the voice guiding and coaching our friend in the background. It's the very reason he's about to become the winner of this whole tournament…even now, you're still looking out for his best interest, making him as comfortable as you can." She looked around the forest. "You brought him here, to rest and think peaceably. To say that you won't duel tomorrow, after everything you've done _for_ him," Anzu shook her head, disbelievingly, trying to come up with a good analogy –and with a blush, stated, "why, that's like standing a girl up on her first date right after you've told all the reasons you wanted to go out with her in the first place!"

The Spirit's eyes were glimmering with fresh shock at her. He was a man of very few words to begin with, but he was _speechless_ now. However, there was also promise showing in his eyes and features that Anzu's disclosure to him was manifesting somewhere inside him.

"I believe I understand what you are saying," he spoke finally, nodding his head slowly for ratification purposes. Anzu sighed, and decided to say it plain.

"Look," she began, her hand delicately upon his. "What I'm trying to say is that…you both are really great guys." Her eyes pierced his in emphasis, "_both _of you are. And you wanna know what makes _you_ so great? See this tree?" She motioned to the perennial woody plant above them, and for the first time, took in its incredible height. "This tree is great, not because it's super tall, but because of its super strength that allows it to _be _tall." She smiled at how the Spirit followed her line of reasoning with acute wonder. "A nature like yours is built to survive hardships, like this tree…" She tentatively touched the stomach of the plant. "In its lifetime, it will have many branches that break off. It's kinda like challenges you and Yuugi have faced, and will continue to encounter in the future. Well, just because the branch breaks off –like Yuugi losing a duel, or facing a struggle– that doesn't mean the tree stops growing." She subconsciously pulled a captivated Spirit up with her, taking his hands softly in her own finishing sympathetically, "but, just like you, it _keeps _reaching…toward the light. Toward that victory." The Spirit sparkled in the moonlight under the tree, and Anzu reveled in the way the beams only shined brighter when his face looked up into the big vegetable. "Yuugi can't win the duel without you. So you both should go in there as a team tomorrow and take him down!"

The Spirit considered this for some small minutes before gracing Anzu with a minor –but reassuring– smile. "Alright, then. I'll duel with Yuugi tomorrow. And help him defeat Pegasus." Anzu giggled, a silly grin plastered to her face. The smile dropped pixels of happiness in her eyes.

"Well, you two have just won yourselves a championship!" She chirped excitedly. Having the Spirit favor her with a smile, it was simply too much she could ever hope for –_dream_ of!

"Thank you, Anzu." The Spirit said poignantly, prompting the girl to elicit a little 'huh' sound. "You spoke with a wisdom it takes most men their entire lives to acquire. My partner was right about you: you always have a special word for troubled hearts." He bowed slightly before her, keeping his back straight. "And for that, I truly thank you."

And there he went again. Unknowingly wooing her deeper in love with him. Somehow, he didn't seem like such an unapproachable person –once one got to know him. There were two sides to this figure that Yuugi did not seem to possess: a confident, merciless side that seemed to dominate his personality most of the time. And then there was this more –how shall she put it?– _passionate_ disposition to him that made him simply stunning, in any light, at any angle that came out _less _often, like a full moon. The awe-inspired look on Anzu's face went completely unnoticed by him.

Of course, his _obliviousness _needed some sharpening up, but…

Hardly able to retain her love for him, pink lips quickly advanced towards the Spirit's own before he realized what she was doing and instinctively yanked his head away. Her lips lightly scratched his jawbone.

Anzu privately panicked. She knew immediately what she had done wrong: she tried to kiss him. She spent a considerable amount of time trying to judiciously, brick by sturdy brick, remove the barrier from around him _without _startling him. This little, miscalculated action, sent the whole wall tumbling down.

As if slobbered on and covered in green and gooey Humiliation, Anzu swiftly guided her face away from the Spirit who now receded back to his former self: cold and distant. Their hands had freed themselves in the process. His dark presence, refusing to look at her and her shame, looked determinedly into the murky night. The moonlight on him had faded to a puny silver line.

"I-I'm sorry…" Anzu said finally, tripping clumsily over incoming tears; unable to believe she could be so hasty and blow whatever intangible thing they built up between themselves. "I just…I just…" tears choked on her voice, before she gave in and let them spill over. Rejection. It hurt so bad, if someone –maybe Heaven would bare pity upon her and send one of Pegasus' eliminators– had come by in the night and stabbed her to death, it would have been a small blessing to die compared to live a life in rejection –as her crush just dealt her.

Sobs pierced the air, all the way to the Spirit's and his ardent ears, whom stood less than three feet away from her. Was she crying? What had he done? Not only had he scared his smaller and younger partner, he had succeeded in harming his closest friend, too. She tried so hard to cheer him up, too; she even prospered in the art of making him smile as well as stealing a little laugh from his throat. It was a technique, he, himself, could not master on his own. Why did making people suffer come so easily to him? It was like a birthright he had no control –or want– over inheriting.

Abandoning his better judgment –the one that sternly demanded him to walk away from the girl and not stir up her feelings for him any further– the Spirit brought his face to her back in apology and reached into her hair. Using his long fingers, he temporarily evicted the long, brown tresses from her face and found a small, fleshy spot on her temple to place a gentleman's kiss upon. The Spirit perched his lips gingerly above her brow, expressing secret relief when Anzu's surprised gasp interrupted her weeping spree. Now, she was merely sniffling, bewilderment trimming down the slightly boisterous lamenting to little whimpers of hurt and requests for forgiveness.

His kiss upon her lasted for what seemed to be lifetimes. The warmness of his lips was innocent and meaningful. Anzu regained her trusty blush, sending her face into a soothing and sizzling oblivion. His breath was hot on her head, and peeked up incredulously at him through large, blue orbs. When he removed his lips from her temple, he absentmindedly cleaned the remaining tears off her cheeks with his finger without looking at her, but at a far-off hill in the distance.

"Why did you do that?" Asked Anzu through the last of her sniffles. She employed the back of her hand to wipe under her runny nose.

"To offer my condolences," the Spirit stated initially. Then, with reconsideration, "and my gratitude." Anzu said nothing, but touched the spot where he affectionately marked her and snatched her hand back with astonishment. It was still warm, as if his lips were spewing out volcanic lava. It sounded like fire, his lips. "You must know I respect the friendship you and Yuugi share." He growled, angry at himself. "And I refuse to cause anything that would devastate that strong bond."

Anzu heard fragments of what he had said, not really knowing how to weave the sentences back together properly to depict its importance. She was still tenderly musing on the kiss he gave her, and wondered if she was his first. She knew for certain that he was _her_ first. And as far as she was concerned,

Her _only_ kiss. Is that what it felt like to have the person you are in love with, display his affection upon you? With a subtle caress of the lips?

"You have soft lips." Anzu thought out loud. She touched the spot on her temple again –this time, smiling cheekily.

Unbeknownst to Anzu, the Spirit was mulling over her words. Had she even been listening to him, just now? With a sigh, he turned to face the recovering-from-wreck girl and prepared a pretest to her admirable choice of words, before she defeated him with a kiss of her own. A muffled groan escaped barely through his lips.

Intertwining their lips together, Anzu unquestionably chanced, was the greatest achievement she could ever hope to come by –even more than dancing venerably on the Broadway stage in New York. In America. _He_ was her dream, now, this Spirit before her. And he always would be. The shock that struck the Spirit's eyes died to a helpless twinkle before he conceded to the light contact. She grazed her lips across his, wanting more of his intricate, scrumptious taste. His lips held a piquant flavor, sprinkled over a dark, sweetened dessert that drove her senses haywire. Her hands tenderly grabbed his face, pouring her own love all onto his lips, as well as scraping up the rest of his sweetness, to illustrate her compliments to the wonderful chef.

When they parted, and relinquished hot breath onto each other's faces –the Spirit's smelling wonderfully like home-cooked cinnamon, Anzu slid her hands slowly down to his uniformed shirt. "How about mine? Are they soft, too?" She questioned endearingly; her voice was lost in the passion she held for this man, alone.

The Spirit watched with sad realization at the way her eyes looked at him: love-struck. It was the very same gaze he witnessed Yuugi secretly giving Anzu in their travels. But what could he do? Even _he_ did not have the power to release her from this feeling, like the man with X-ray eyes in Anzu's movie.

Rather than answer her question, the Spirit of the Millennium Puzzle, through lidded eyes, treated her with a conquered sigh, raising a finger to wipe away a sticky substance at the corner of her mouth. Anzu lovingly kissed his finger and waited for his answer. To his own disbelief, his heart careened joyously, as if it had been set free.

"It is getting late." He tangentially observed, crimson eyes still battling her blue ones. "Yuugi will return to the castle to face Pegasus presently. Until that time," he gently pushed himself away from her, loosening her grip on him. "Goodnight, Anzu."

Then, he had begun to walk away. Where, she did not know, but Anzu knew it would be further into the forest. Or perhaps nearer the water. She ducked her head sadly, not wanting to leave him there. Not wanting, _ever_, to leave his side. She pressed her hands to her heart, cloaked by her pink gown. What she would _give_ to gladly exchange her love, her heart for his own.

Startling her out of her thoughts, Anzu landed dumbly back into reality, upon hearing the deep, mystifying voice of her savior and hero. He was standing several feet away from her by now, index finger timidly plucking at the bark on the old tree –like a young schoolboy left wordless in front of a pretty girl. His eyes were piercing, wanting to say something, and seeking the confirmation within himself to do so.

Then in a whisper, "and yes," he confessed guilty. Anzu could feel a slight smirk from him, though his head was turned away from her. "They are soft."

Interpreting that as some foreign sign of approval, on romantic grounds, Anzu giggled happily before running over to him; sparkling tears trailing her. She nuzzled her head against his shoulder, wrapping her fingers around his impressive bicep before sighing contentedly. Her eyes fluttered close in complete bliss.

The Spirit heard her hurried steps towards him after he admitted the cursed tenderness of her lips caressing his own. Now she was against him, filling his body with an angel-like and fluffy warmth that he could never generate in five thousand years. He, too, betrayed his suppressed contentedness by letting her lean into him and consume him with her love, if only for the night. With his free arm, he placed his hand in his pocket and straightened his posture. A smirk mounted triumphantly on his lips.

And as they began to walk away, deeper into the forest, not really sure what to do with this new-found thing between them, but sure to figure it out together, they let the aisle of trees bustle with energy and excitement. Leaves jumped up and down in congratulations; the wind was alive, again, running like a Mustang horse through the wilderness, ducking in and out of the trees; the moonlight looked down on them proudly, happily granting a ray of light so influential –so _moving_– that the _rest _of the forest, animals and all,

Rejoiced with them.

* * *

_Oh my goodness! That was a long one, was it not? *giggles* I am sorry; I really did not mean to make it this long. But…this one was my favorite one-shot so far. ^-^ It was my first story where I sort of let them be together. Oh, I do hope you liked it! PLEASE review. I really do welcome them, along with constructive criticism. Just please, let me know what you liked about it or what you thought needed some more work. My sole wish for writing this fanfics is that I can know what my strengths are as a writer so that I may satisfy you. I want that to show in your review. You have no idea how happy it makes me! *hugs for you all* _

_Thank you for reading! _


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